The Central Economic Work Conference aims to ensure a good start and start in the 15th Five Year Plan period, and has identified 8 key tasks to be carried out in economic work by 2026. Among them, "adhering to domestic demand as the mainstay and building a strong domestic market" ranks first. During the 14th Five Year Plan period, China continued to make efforts to expand domestic demand and smooth the supply and demand cycle, achieving significant results. In the new year, the "dual" projects of the "two new" policy were optimized and implemented. The first batch of 62.5 billion yuan super long term special treasury bond to support the fund plan of replacing old consumer goods with new ones in 2026, the list of "dual" construction projects approved in advance in 2026 and the investment plan within the central budget have been issued. To do a good job in economic work in 2026, we need to accelerate the construction of a complete domestic demand system, lead new supply with new demand, create new demand with new supply, promote the benign interaction between consumption and investment, supply and demand, and enhance the endogenous power and reliability of the domestic circulation. Domestic demand has become the driving force and stabilizing anchor for economic growth. The 27th Harbin Ice and Snow World opened on December 17, 2025, welcoming visitors from all over the world. From northern cities to various regions, from winter to all seasons, the heat of the ice and snow economy continues to rise, becoming a strong engine to drive consumption and expand domestic demand. According to Meituan Travel data, since December 2025, the search volume for "outdoor ski resorts" has increased by more than three times year-on-year. The popularity of the ice and snow economy is a microcosm. China adheres to the principle of being based domestically, relying on the advantages of a large domestic market, and implementing precise policies to better unleash the potential of domestic demand. The coordinated efforts of policies such as trade in of consumer goods have led to sustained and stable market growth. Take advantage of the national subsidy to place an order and save over 1000 yuan. ”Not long ago, Ms. Wang from Pudong New Area, Shanghai ordered a new dishwasher. After placing the order, the service personnel quickly came to the door and not only made partial modifications to the cabinet, embedding the dishwasher into the cabinet, but also solved the problem of home appliance recycling. In the first three quarters of 2025, driven by the trade in policy, Haier's home appliance sales increased by 20%, with a growth rate of over 50% for household air conditioners, "said a person in charge of Haier Smart Home. By 2025, the policy of exchanging old for new consumer goods will be effective, with sales of related products exceeding 260 trillion yuan and benefiting over 360 million people, supporting the continuous expansion of consumption. From January to November 2025, the total retail sales of consumer goods in society increased by 4.0% year-on-year, accelerating by 0.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The policy effect of large-scale equipment updates continues to emerge, and investment in equipment and tool purchases has grown rapidly. Recently, the scrapping and renewal work of 75 old operating ships in Yichang City, Hubei Province for the year 2025 has been completed, with a subsidy fund of 220 million yuan allocated. Two asphalt ships, a total subsidy of 8 million yuan, "said Yang Yue, the person in charge of Yichang Santong Shipping Co., Ltd. Hubei's relevant cities and prefectures have applied for the first batch of scrapping and updating projects for old operating ships in 2025, with a total of 14 projects. The approved list includes 369 dismantled ships and a subsidy of 609 million yuan. In 2025, equipment procurement investment will continue to play a driving role: from January to November, equipment and tool procurement investment increased by 12.2% year-on-year, driving a total investment growth of 1.8 percentage points; The proportion of total investment is 17.4%. The "dual" construction continues to advance, and investment in key areas continues to expand. From January to November 2025, the investment in power, heat production and supply industries will increase by 12.5% year on year, while the investment in Internet and related service industries and water transportation industries will increase by 20.7% and 8.9% year on year respectively. Zhang Linshan, a researcher at the Institute of Macroeconomics of the National Development and Reform Commission, believes that China's domestic demand continues to expand in scale, improve in quality, and increase in international influence. The supporting role of domestic demand in economic development has significantly increased, becoming the driving force and stable anchor for driving economic growth. Experts analyze that there is still enormous potential and space for expanding domestic demand. In the coming period, although China faces some constraints and difficulties in expanding domestic demand, overall there are more favorable factors than unfavorable factors, and opportunities outweigh challenges. Consumer upgrading contains enormous potential - In Xinping Village, Nankeng Town, Luxi County, Jiangxi Province, an online anchor introduces freshly caught fish and distributes coupons. In 2025, Luxi County will collaborate with e-commerce platforms to organize more than 40 agricultural special enterprises and digital economy industrial park merchants to participate in 10 events such as the "Ganpin Online Tour"; From January to October, the online retail sales in the entire county amounted to 543.9784 million yuan. Zhang Linshan believes that digital technology, artificial intelligence, and other technologies are constantly giving birth to new business models and scenarios. Immersive and experiential consumption scenarios are being innovatively cultivated, and live streaming economy and online entertainment are flourishing. The enormous consumption potential will continue to be released. The effective investment space is still vast - Tianjin Feixuan Technology Co., Ltd. is booming with new production line machines. Technology oriented enterprises have large R&D investment and long cycles, and capital turnover is a pain point, "said Li Donghui, the company's financial director. The 10 million yuan credit loan issued by Postal Savings Bank of China Tianjin Branch only took 15 working days from docking research to loan landing." This fund has been used for new technology research and upgrading old production lines. "Guizhou Taijiang Miaomiao Sour Soup Food Co., Ltd., six sets of stainless steel fermentation tanks are particularly dazzling under the lights. This company is jointly invested and built by the Agricultural Products Processing Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Guoquan Food. The modern production line shortens the fermentation time of sour soup from 3 to 6 months to 7 days, and the entire process is controllable. At a Zhongtong express delivery outlet in Hainan, packages are scanned by laser and the system automatically recognizes the destination information, sliding them from the conveyor belt into the corresponding compartments. In August 2025, the branch invested over 500000 yuan to launch this automated sorting system, which significantly improved operational efficiency and processing capacity. By 2025, Zhongtong Express will deploy over 690 sets of automated sorting equipment. Our country's economy is currently in a critical period of transforming its development mode, optimizing its economic structure, and transforming its growth drivers. The transformation and upgrading of traditional industries require significant investment in equipment updates, technological innovations, and digital transformation; The key core technology areas will make up for shortcomings, and the development of emerging and future industries will also form a continuous stream of new investment and development momentum. Zhang Linshan believes that it is necessary to accurately grasp the development laws of the domestic market, coordinate stable employment, stable enterprises, stable markets, and stable expectations, further strengthen the domestic circulation, effectively respond to external shocks and challenges, and promote stable, healthy, and sustainable economic development. To build a strong domestic market, it is necessary to place greater emphasis on boosting consumption. During lunchtime, at Yiliang Roast Duck City in Xiannong Garden, Yiliang County, Yunnan Province, the staff were busy sorting dishes and packing orders, while Meituan riders were waiting to pick up their orders. The development of new business models such as instant retail brings convenient shopping experiences. Consumption is the ultimate demand and the enduring driving force of economic growth. We should not only focus on the current situation, but also combine the expansion of consumption with the development of new quality productive forces according to local conditions, adapt to the trend of consumption upgrading, expand the supply of high-quality consumer goods and services, cancel unreasonable or one size fits all restrictive measures in the consumption field, and use new supply to meet new demand and stimulate new energy; We should also focus on the long term, formulate and implement plans to increase the income of urban and rural residents, effectively enhance their consumption ability, improve the social security system, and expand consumption while ensuring and improving people's livelihoods. To build a strong domestic market, we need to actively expand effective investment. The Chongqing Hunan double line expressway has been fully completed, and the main tower of the south channel bridge of the Zhangjiang Jinggao Yangtze River Bridge has been successfully capped... China's transportation fixed assets investment continues to operate at a high level, and is expected to exceed 3.6 trillion yuan in 2025. Supporting urban underground pipelines, high standard farmland, the "Three North" project, and effectively reducing logistics costs for the whole society... By 2026, the "dual" construction projects will be approved in advance, highlighting the requirements for the implementation of major national strategies and the construction of safety capabilities in key areas. Supporting urban renewal, water conservancy, ecological protection and restoration... By 2026, the central budget investment plan will be approved in advance, focusing on public areas that require concentrated efforts, sustained investment, and structural adjustment to improve people's livelihoods, fully leveraging the guiding and driving role of government investment. Investment is the current demand and also determines future supply. ”Du Yue, a researcher at the Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that it is necessary to maintain a reasonable level of government investment, coordinate and make good use of various types of government investment funds, strengthen the management of the entire project process, and ensure that funds are used on the "cutting edge"; Continuously stimulating the vitality of private investment, implementing several measures to promote the development of private investment, improving the long-term mechanism for private enterprises to participate in major project construction, strengthening the guarantee of elements and financing support for private investment projects, and striving to create a more stable, transparent, and predictable institutional environment. We must firmly implement the strategy of expanding domestic demand, adhere to the domestic demand leadership, build a strong domestic market, and constantly transform China's super large-scale market advantages into competitive advantages and development victories, so as to lay a solid foundation for comprehensively promoting the construction of a strong country and national rejuvenation with Chinese path to modernization. (New Society)